Setting up my Quarantine Tank

[GoldenGardner]

I am going to be setting up my quarantine tank for NEW FISH today. Here is what I have: 

- Container (I have a container that will hold 5 gallons and it leaves about 2 inches to the top.)

- Heater

- Filter with a sponge that's in my current tank. 

- Whisper Tetra air pump.

 

I am planning on doing a water change today, so I'll take the water from my current tank and put it in the QT tank. I will take out the sponge from the big tank and put it in the QT tank. I will not be putting any plants or decoration in the QT tank.

 

I have ParaCleanse, Maracyn, and Ich-X on hand. I'll start the treatment right away. For the Ich-X it says to change 1/3 of the water prior to adding it and to continue treating every 24 hours. Now, if they are brand new fish and I'm doing the Quarantine Trio then do I need to change 1/3 of the water every 24 hours? The reason I ask is because the Maracyn says to treat for 5 days and then to change 25% of the water on day 6. Then the ParaCleanse says to treat the fish for 5 days and on day Day 5 do a 25% water change. So if I followed the directions for all three, it would be a 1/3 water change daily, a 25% water change on Day 5 and then again on Day 6. So... What do I do? 

I was going to wait to buy more fish, but someone posted in our in neighborhood group asked if anyone had a community tank and has 3-5 guppies he can give me! He said they have really interesting colorations too. So I'm going to pick those up later today. How long do I need to quarantine them for? A month? 2 weeks?
 

[Kelly S]

If you're doing the meds as a "just in case," you put in one dose of each and let it all sit for 7 days. Here are the directions from the ParaCleanse listing on AquariumCoop.com:

"Aquarium Co-Op Instructions: Dose one packet per 10 gallons of water to be treated. Let sit in aquarium for 7 days. Then do 25% water change.

Rest the fish 2 weeks.

Week 4, retreat with a dose of one packet per 10 gallons of water to be treated. Let sit for 7 days. Then do a 25% water change."

 

[Kelly S]

Oops, I think I accidentally deleted half of what I wrote. If you see symptoms, you may need to modify the plan, but I am no veterinarian so I don't know a lot about that. After the water change you could probably move them, but there's no harm in doing a longer quarantine. Post pictures when you get them! 🙂

[GoldenGardner]

Here they are and here is my QT! My neighbor was super nice and said he has 4 tanks. He said he will also have some molly's at some point too.